


Part of the Team

by Hopelessgg



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, One Shot Collection, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-02
Updated: 2017-10-03
Packaged: 2018-11-08 01:46:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11071467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hopelessgg/pseuds/Hopelessgg
Summary: Rocket doesn't like the new members of the team. Mantis especially. But maybe with some consideration, something can grow...Friendship/crushing little one shots to show the cuter side of their relationship.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to give this pairing a shot ever since I saw the movie. Made me a little happy to see some people (VERY few people) liked the pairing idea as much as I did. So I want to give it a shot, hope you like how thy go!
> 
> Not sure how many ill make but this'll be a fun ride while it lasts. Please excuse my grammar.

Rocket moved through the halls, tapping his claws against the metal as he went to mark his territory. Peter earlier made a little snark about how the ship belonged to him since it had his name on it. Obviously the raccoon decided to be an ass and just claw up the interior to get back at the smug Captain. 

He hated how he is captain. Hated how they were going all over the place to talk to people more often instead of doing the usual drifting around for fun. He hated how Gamora would check his bag every time they left a planet to make sure he didn’t take anything with him. And a couple times she caught him stuffing stolen goods into his suit and shook him upside down to get them out. He hated how that new kid with the fin on his head was trying to be like Yondu with that whistling practice. Even more so when Peter would help him based on the memories he had with the old man. He hated how Drax started to bond more with Groot on little tasks like shirking off on chores in favor to train for hours. Groot made it obvious he rather would work his ass off than actually clean up after himself. 

And he especially hated how that new chick hung around. 

Whatever happened to just being their old five member team? They were doing just fine before. Now it's just too cluttered. 

Ever since she was brought on board, she would be constantly doing things unnecessary. Like cleaning up after others when a mess was just fine. Gamora obviously liked a cleaner ship, but Rocket wanted his mess right where it was. It was better.

When he scattered his screws on the floor on purpose, he returned to see them actually set in a row according to size and how much rust was on them. A note was even added to the bunch pointing out which ones were cracked. With hearts all over no less!

He hated how she would cook meals sometimes and they were actually good and he would somehow find himself fighting with the others to get third’s. Hated how he felt like he wanted MORE of what she made and felt like an idiot for showing to the others he liked her cooking most of all. Peter would more than once make fun of him for that. 

But worst of all, he hated when she would talk to him. 

Every time she would see him, she would try to start a conversation. Asking things... Like where he came from, what species he was (since he made it clear he wasn't a puppy), and how he met Groot. Personal questions nobody should EVER ask him. Ever. 

At first he avoided her like the plague. That touching business was a no go for him right from the get go. Even when she promised not to “empathy” him, Rocket would run up anything to keep her grabby mitts from him. Of course it hurt her feelings, but he could give a crap about people’s feelings. That's how he was.

Keyword, was. 

Slowly, he started to warm up without realizing it. It started with trips into his workshop and she would sit there quietly for hours unend. He'd ignore her hoping she'd take the hint and leave. She never did. Yelling at her never solved the problem. She'd just look sad and that that things worst.

But one day, he blurted out, “Where is my wrench?” and she just magically held it out to him with that weird smile on her face. From then on, he would continue to ignore her until he asked out loud for his needed tools. Hammer, proton fuser, tape, whatever. She would hand it over to him or run out of the room to grab it. Just for him. 

The raccoon will admit, he messed with her more than once. Sending her out of the room to grab things that didn’t belong to her and laughing his ass off when the owner (namely Peter) would come storming in yelling in fury but would actually hold back when it was the girl that stole them. Eventually they, (namely Peter) caught on with the jokes and would straight up yell at Rocket instead. That fun lasted shorter than he hoped, but it was a good time. 

He remembered the second time she actually joined in laughing with him at one of his pranks and it was nice to have someone on his side for once for a good laugh. Of course in Rocket’s opinion, she was a little dense, but that led to more laughs on his end most of the time. 

On the days Groot was in the room with them, he would talk out loud about his advenures with the old Groot. The little guy loved hearing them and he took notice how she would too. She would listen and pipe in a question now and again, overly eager to hear him speak, and Rocket was never one to shy away from boasting his stories. 

Things were shifting towards good things...

But then the...incident happened. 

It was after a particular good mission that everyone was very happy about. Things were going haywire and falling apart until the last moment the Guardians of the Galaxy actually came out on top and saved the day. Celebration was fresh among them; Drax was dancing with Kraglin, Gamora and Peter were actually making out in front of everyone for once, and Groot was throwing flowers everywhere. He was in the middle of yelling happily when something wrapped around his body. Something warm and soft snaked under his arms and lifted him up. 

He was confused at first before hearing a happy voice in his left ear, “We did it! We did it, Rocket!” 

Something in him reacted instantly. He didn’t know if it was the animal in him or the old years of being experimented on, but he didn’t take to being grabbed without his permission nicely.

He whirled around, claws out and scratched at her face. Twice. Thrice. Four times. 

It was 2 seconds too late he realized what he did and saw he had sliced at one of her feelers. The bottom of his stomach dropped as she saw her drop back from him, holding her hands over her face to hide the blood and tears. The cheering stopped and everyone had different reactions to the scene. 

Of course a majority were pissed at him, with Drax ready to tear out his tail, while Groot and Kraglin comforted the girl. He didn’t know what to do with the guilt he felt. So he got angry to hide it. He yelled right back at everyone, trying to say it was her fault for grabbing her. The celebration was short lived, and when they arrived for their reward, the air was tense and bittersweet. 

Of course he felt like a jerk. But it was going just fine until she overstepped her boundaries. 

For a full day he didn’t see her. He told himself he didn’t care. But he knew that was a lie. And he hated it. He hated HER for making her feel this way. He was just fine where he was. Why did she had to ruin it?

The day she returned with bandages over her face, he tried to play it off like nothing happened. But he failed. Miserably. 

When she spotted him, Rocket just got up to walk out of the room, unable to look at her. He didn’t want her to see him, just so she could yell at him for breaking her face. So, he kept at it. Every room she was in, he would step out. Every time he knew she called for him, he'd run from it. A week of this dodging game went on until she started to get the hint. She finally stopped asking for him or going into his workshop, respecting his privacy. 

He told himself this was for the best. Avoiding her was best for both of them least he did something else to mess things up. 

But then he saw pie in his room; Notes on his chair when he’d go pilot the ship. Hand made trinkets like buttons for his suit showing up in the places he’d usually go to. And they all said the same thing to him.

“Sorry I hugged you. I should have asked first.” 

The guilt was eating away at him more and more but he was at a point he couldn’t just go up to her and say sorry. It was too late! He was an ass to her before and to do it now would only make it look like he was saying sorry only because she was saying it first, when in actuality he wanted to say it since day one. 

He had to think of a way to do it properly. 

Thinking really hard, Rocket came to the conclusion to help her fighting skills. She was having difficulty on the battlefield. Half the time she’d just hide and jump at enemies to put them to sleep, yet it's the part of her running away that made things difficult for her. She’d sometimes get caught for not being fast enough or trip over herself. It was aggravating to watch and frustrating for her, of course. 

Rocket knew what to do. 

It took him days to finish the idea but he did it. And once he finished the “gift”, he left it in her bedroom for her to find and ran back to his workshop to hide. 

That should be enough, right?

Apparently it was. 

Not an hour later she came barging into the workshop, calling out his name. Rocket turned around hesitantly to see her not there. Looking around for a moment, her form reappeared above him. She was wearing it. The wings on her back fluttered and she pressed the invisible cloaking device to disappear and reappear. Showing her big wide smile. 

“I love it!” she cheered, hovering over the ground, her face as bright and brilliant as a sun. 

Rocket hated to feel anything towards anyone. Whether it was gratitude, sympathy, or even a content moment. 

But right now, he was thinking he wanted to feel what he felt right then for years to come.


	2. I'm the ugly one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rocket finally had enough of Mantis calling herself "ugly".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanna thank for those supporting the fanfic so far~ that means so much to me! I shall try my best to keep rocket in character and make these five enjoyable!  
> If you have any suggestions for future scenes, please feel free to let me know!

"Hello! My name is Mantis, and I am the ugly Guardian!” 

Rocket looked up from the champagne glass to give her a confused and slightly annoyed expression. The royal they stood in front of was holding out his hand to his teammate, looking very confused by her words. As he should. 

“She’s...learning.” Rocket offered weakly. He didn’t normally care, but this was the 6th time she told someone this. “Excuse us,” he said, patting Mantis on the leg to lead her away from th man. She looked down at him confused; her heels clicking softly against the marble and her green dress shimmering as they went outside into the night air. The celebration party for the planet went off without them, letting Rocket at least breathe from the stuffy room.

Once again they saved a planet and were offered a special audience with the royal court. Rocket wasn't all that impressed by the pretty dresses but the food was good. 

“Okay, we gatta fix that freaking talk right now.” he insisted. 

“Talk? How I talk? I thought I was learning just fine.” Mantis said, wilting. 

“No. No, you are doing fine.” he said. He rubbed at the fur along his neck. Of course he had to be stuck babysitting the girl while the others had fun. Then again, Groot was with them and so was Drax. They were handfuls in their own right. So maybe he could use the break himself from playing mom. 

“It's just...you shouldn’t tell people you’re ugly.”

“I shouldn’t?” Mantis asked confused, sitting down on the fence surrounding the balcony. Rocket leapt up on the banister beside her to be at eye level. He scratched at the tie he was forced to wear, wishing he had one of suits to wear. Although one could argue his suits were just as tight as the one he was forced to wear. 

He plans on burning it soon as he could. 

“No! Why would you tell someone that? It makes them feel like they can make fun of you for that later and then you’ll feel foolish for it!”

“I don’t feel foolish for what is true. Drax said-”

“Okay, I’m going to stop you right there. That’s my problem. You believe anything that walking tub of lard tells ya.” Rocket interrupted with a snarl. “The guy should be the last person you believe on that kind of stuff.” 

“But, he is being honest. He wouldn’t lie to me about what’s wrong with me.” she said, looking more confused than before. 

“Just cause he’s being honest, doesn’t mean he’s right.” Rocket rolled his eyes. “Lemme tell ya, the guy is as thick in the head as he is with the rest of his body.” 

“I don’t find that very bad. He must need that for battles.” she said logically. Rocket sighed. 

“I mean he’s dumb! An idiot! Dimwit! Nincompoop, moron, stupid, take your pick! Not smart! ...don't tell him I said that.” 

“Oh...I didn’t feel that. He feels quite wise. Being the oldest among you all, I felt he has learned many things.” She said, ready to defend the man. Of course she would. She worshipped the very ground he walks on. 

“Like I said, just cause he’s older or honest or seen the most, doesn’t make him right. Believe me when I say you shouldn't be telling people you're ugly. Cause that’s just not right. If you think your right, and you might be wrong, that doesn't change that it's still wrong. Not right. Understand?”

Mantis looked thoughtful for a moment before asking, “Then...what am I?” 

It was the naive tone in her voice that made him want to say the first snarky bit that came to his mind. She was the pet, the slave, the prostitute (though that one he has to admit was mean), anything to make the reactions funnier than just “ugly”.

But he somehow held himself back. His snout was open and ready to blurt out the words, but they never came. Her dark eyes blinked at him slowly and a churning feeling bubbled in his stomach. 

He hated his conscious.

“You are...beautiful. In people standards.” he said, his voice letting out in a sigh like a balloon. 

“Beautiful?” she gasped, holding her hands over her face. 

“Yeah. So don’t you go telling others you’re ugly anymore, alright?” he demanded out of her.

“Okay!” she said, smiling wider than he had ever seen her. Again that feeling returned in his stomach. 

“Hey, what are you guys talking about?” Peter asked, poking his head outside to them while holding a glass of bubbly blue water.

“Rocket was just telling me that I was beautiful!” she said happily. 

That feeling he was having? Gone. Vanished. Disappeared into thin air. He stood there on the balcony, on this moonlit starry night, standing next to her in a very ROMANTIC setting...and wished for the embrace of death more than he ever had in his life.

Peter’s eyes widened and he looked over to Rocket in shock. If it weren’t for his fur hiding it, Rocket was sure he’d be blushing like a small red sun.

“Oh...diiiiid he now?” Peter snickered, his voice absolutely singing.

“Peter, I swear to-” Rocket started to say but the man was already gone. 

“Hey Groot! I gatta tell ya something!” he heard him shout inside.

“No!” he cried out, jumping down from the banister.

“Rocket?” Mantis’s voice called out to him.

“Ugh, what what?” he yelled, whirling around to the woman. “I have to tear his tongue out!” he said. 

“Thank you for telling me the truth. Now I know now what I must do from now on!”

“Ugh, fine! I’ll talk to you later!” Rocket said and ran after a grinning Peter and a gasping Groot. 

Later the next day, after Peter was bandaged up from the slaps to the face, Rocket discovered just what Mantis did with that new information…

“These ladies kept glaring at me whenever I would speak with their husbands. But the husbands were very nice to me when I would say those words. What did I do wrong?” she sighed woefully.

“Mantis…” Rocket said, placing his screwdriver aside, “How about you just introduce yourself as just “Mantis” to people, huh?” 

The woman stared at him for a beat before nodding. “Yes. I think that’s best. Short and simple, yes?” 

“Yep...short...but definitely NOT simple.” he groaned.


	3. Let's Take Turns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mantis never really listened to the music Peter has. But this is her big chance! Except...Rocket want's his turn too.

Mantis looked around the guardians as they argued over the zune player. The tiny device looked very small but played very loud music. She was surprised by how tiny a thing could cause so much ruckus.

“You chose the last song, it's my turn!” shouted Rocket.

“But you always play Fox On the Run! Change it up! I want to listen to a Boy Beach song.” Drax argued. 

“Its Beach Boy you galumax.” Rocket groaned. Mantis held back a comment to say something how he was holding more respect over the music by the day given how he teases their captain about it. “Peter!” he yelled across the room.

“You kids need to learn how to share.” the human male sighed, looking up from his magazine. “But you two have been too loud. I’m taking away the zune from you two.” he said, standing up from the couch and walking over to the player.

“What?! Why? We weren’t that loud.”

“Groot is crying in the corner.” Peter pointed out.

“Shit! Really?!” Rocket exclaimed and whirled around to see the little tree creature was indeed in the corner sobbing quietly. “Oh geez, buddy! I’m sorry.” Rocket said, changing his exterior from a furious mountain goat into soft mama bear. He quickly walked over to the small creature to comfort him, taking him into his arms to rock him from side to side. Turned out Groot was trying to get his attention earlier but was yelled at to go away. His feelings were hurt so now Rocket held up the growing spout in his arms to comfort him.

Understandably. It was his rooting age. Equivalent to children teething on Earth. It was not a happy time for him in general.

“Here, Mantis! You haven’t had a chance to choose. How about you listen to music on your own?” Peter offered, holding out the zune to her with his trusty headphones. 

“Me?” she gasped. “But I don’t know any of the songs on this device.” she said, embarrassed to confess that. 

“That’s fine,” Peter shrugged. “That's part of the fun actually. You get to discover new songs and enjoy them as you go.”

“I do enjoy learning new things…” Mantis concluded, taking the device as Peter placed the headset on her head awkwardly. She gasped at the sensation of the buds into her ears, the world now slightly muffled. “...Now what do I do?”

He pointed to the device, “Just scroll through the lists. Pick whatever calls out to you.” he said, smiling at her innocence before walking off. “Come on Drax. Help me with the garage.”

“We don’t have a garage…” Drax said confused, but followed anyway. 

“The hanger, whatever! Gamora wants it clean. Help me.” he said. 

Mantis stood there awkwardly, looking at the little rectangular thing and scrolled through the songs. “There are so many…” she said in awe.

She felt someone tap at her leg and she glanced down to Rocket standing there, cradling Groot on his shoulder. He beckoned her to come closer to his level and she knelt down to be nose to nose with him. The Raccoon leaned back surprised by her lack of personal space respects, and cleared his throat. 

“I have a suggestion.” he said his voice low. Her eyes went to Groot and saw his eyes were drooping, showing why Rocket was whispering to her. She nodded, holding out the zune to him eagerly.

Carefully, Rocket scrolled through the lists, mumbling a few words as songs came up before he picked one with a “There we go!” 

Once he pressed play, he stepped away to continue rocking Groot to sleep, letting Mantis to hear the first few beats. Her eyes widened slightly as the mysic came into her system, making her stand up and slowly go into the movements of the song. She wasn’t one to be a dancer, but she felt the slow and calming rhythm of the song make her body move into a sort of waltz. 

“Stand by me…” she muttered out loud as the song continued in her ears. Getting into the song, she closed her eyes and shifted her body to every beat as they lulled her into a sort of trance. She kept on listening to the song before she felt a tap at her leg again. Rocket stood there folding his arms.

“I want a shot too.” he said, holding out his hands to take the zune. 

For once she was selfish and held the zune away. “It's not done yet.” she said frowning.

The raccoon groaned. He couldn’t argue. He knew Peter would bitch at him about it later. “Then come down here and share the earphones with me.” he insisted, pointing to one of the ear buds. 

She paused. “But I want to dance.” she complained. After a pause she held out her hands to him. “Come up here. Join me!” she said.

“What?” he said, snapping his head to Groot who was asleep on the sofa. “No! Just gimme a turn.”

“I never get a turn.” she whined, pouting out her lips at him for sympathy. “Please?” 

The raccoon got a good look at her pleading face for a second. She never really did ask for much out of anyone. This might be a change in the direction of her becoming more open with the twisted family they had. Still, he glared at the sadness beginning to overcome her gaze before looking around the room carefully. “Ugh...Fine.” He agreed, climbing up her leg and coming to arms. She placed on earbud in his ear and nodded to the song, his earlier annoyance melting away once he listened. 

“Oh, lemme pick this one.” He said, taking the zune and scrolling through to the next song with a grin. “Yeah...that's the stuff.” He sighed, closing his eyes. 

Mantis felt her legs begin to tap to the song again, shifting her weight from side to side, smiling. “I like this song too.” she said, holding the racoon closer to her as the music built up in beats. His body came to rest against her shoulder and she run her hands over his back slightly, enjoying his warmth.

Rocket stiffened when her body came closer against his than he would have liked to think about. “Hey, hey, hey! Don’t get snuggly with me.” he warned.

“Oh, I am sorry...I will proceed to give less snuggles.” she said, nodding and moved her arms out a bit so she was looking at him at arm's length. And also facing each other to gaze into each other's eyes.

Now this was worst. 

“Ugh, never mind.” he said, turning his head away so her eyes didn’t bore down on him. Her gaze was far too intensifying for him to handle at times.

Seeing he wasn’t looking her way, she decided to close her eyes and get lost in the rhythm again. Her feet moving around the room and Rocket just tagging along for the ride. A few minutes passed by and Mantis spoke up softly, “It feels like we are dancing together.” 

Rocket was in another thought process when that was brought up and he nearly wanted to yell at her for bringing attention to it. Now that's all he could view this scene as! Two people sharing a slow dance, alone, sharing headphones...nearly cheek to cheek.

He had seen Peter and Gamora do this. From what he understood, it was part of a mating ritual. If they spot him with Mantis like this-

“Mantis, put me down.” He said, placing his hands on her shoulders.

“You’re upset?” Mantis said. Her feelers lit up and her cheeks flushed. “You are embarrassed.” 

“What?! No!” He hissed. “Dammit I told you not to empathy me again!” He said, fighting to keep his voice down so they don't wake up Groot.

“I'm sorry! I didn't mean to. It's just…” She bit her lip. “I was enjoying this with you. I only wanted to let you know that's…”

“Yeah well, you did and now things are weird now. Happy?” He said, folding his arms.

“....No. I'm not happy I made you feel that way.”

Rocket sighed. “Just...lets just sit down.” He said, glad she listened quickly. He sat on her lap for a moment watching her downcast expression. She made this many times before and it always felt like a kick to the gut. Why it affected him so much, he rather never know. Sighing, Rocket moved around and rested his head on her lap to close his eyes. “Dancing is saved for guys you like. Don't waste them on me.”

“I don't understand…”

“Dancing is for-”

“If I am to save them for those I like, why did you stop us?”

Rockets eyes shot open, looking at her genuine face and felt his face flush under his fur. 

“Just play the next song.” He grumbled, rolling over to glare at the room and not think about how this might look. Wasn’t this worst than dancing with someone? Rocket squashed that thought and decided he doesn’t care. . 

Mantis, still confused, did what she was told and listened to more songs, smiling at how he didn’t bite at her when she stroked his fur.


	4. Oil and Sandwiches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short little story of These two. It was actually inspired by a scene I remember from Titan A.E. Of the girl feeding the protagonist a sandwich as he worked. Wanted to make it into a cute scene~

Rocket tinkered with the underside of the ship, grumbling to himself. 

“You leave ONE idiot in charge of a vessel and suddenly there’s a leak, screws falling off, a piece of hardware missing…”

“Rocket?” a familiar voice called to her.

“Yeah what is it, Mantis?” he said, not pausing in his work. The space under the ship was large enough for him to squeeze under and he used a large pillow to lean against to have a better angle of the machinery. It wasn't easy with short arms, but he made do. 

“Gamora said it is dinner time.” Her sweet voice called out to him. 

“Shit, already?” he snapped over to his watch with Mickey Mouse hands. Once again, he was reminded how he didn’t want to admit to anyone how that was his favorite birthday present from Peter. “I must have zoned out…”

“Are you still working?” she asked, her form appearing on his right. He glanced over to see her coming down to the ground and bending low to peek under the metal to find him covered in oil and grease. 

“Yeah. I probably won’t be done for another hour.” he groaned “Just perfect..”

“...Would you like if I brought the dinner over to you so you can keep working?”

“Shit, would you do that for me?” he said practically pleading her. He was already in a comfy spot and he didn’t want to show up all gross in front of everyone (despite this being a certain pinhead’s fault that he was down here fixing the problems). He also liked to look nice to dinner. If anything, to make a good model for his growing Groot and growing bad manners.

“Of course! Don’t move, I’ll go get it!” she said, excitedly jumping to her feet. He listened to her footsteps go into the ship and he sighed. 

“Not like I have a choice…” he grumbled and went back to work, losing himself into the zone again.

Not five minutes went by before he heard her footsteps return and saw her feet appear.

“I brought your sandwiches!” she cheered, out of breath. 

“You didn’t have to run,” he chuckled. “Just slide it under. I’ll eat as I go.” 

“But...you’re hands will make the sandwiches messy.” she said with concern lacing her tone. “It's not healthy to eat oil stained food.” 

Rocket rolled his eyes. “Who cares. I’ve been fine rolling in dirt before. Just pass it over already.” he said, continuing to work. He saw something from the corner of his vision move towards him and he reached over blindly towards it. “Thanks.”

“Ouch!” 

“Son of a-” Rocket reared back. Instead of his sandwich, Mantis rubbed her nose, holding the plate in her hand. “What the hell are you doing here?” he yelled at her. 

“I thought, since your hands are preoccupied, I can feed you!”

All sorts of things came to mind to yell at her. But he decided, for the sake of being polite, he settled with “Hell no.” 

She pouted at his refusal, but brought those smiles right back. Rocket felt that familiar twisting feeling in lower belly at the sight of it and it only made him more anxious. “Don’t be so stingy. It can work! I’ll just hold the sandwich over your face and you can take bites! It’s really easy.” she said, smiling at him brighter than ever. The same smile that made funny things twist in his stomach. 

“I KNOW it's easy, but I don’t want to be fed like some handicapped baby.” he snapped, and then cried out when something hissed above him, steam and something blue leaking out. He worked his hands quickly to fix it. “Shit, shit, shit!” he hissed. As his hands moved around, he saw the sandwich appeared in front of his snout. “Mantis…” he warned.

“Say aaaaah!” she said in a sing song voice.

“I swear, if my hands weren’t tied up, I’d bite your fingers off.”

Mantis only hesitated for a second before waving the sandwich in his face some more. Apparently she was being bold today. Was their friendship really breaking that many grounds that she wasn’t afraid of him biting at her anymore?

Rocket glared at the pipe threatening to spill all over him before he snapped his teeth at the sandwich to take a bite. 

It was delicious.

“There, happy?” he grumbled through a mouthful of food.

Mantis giggled, holding the rest of the sandwich away for him to finish. “Yes.” she said delighted.

“Fine. But you know the rules when you do crap like this?” he said.

“I tell not a soul. Got it.” she agreed, all smiles at his embarrassed fuzzy face.


	5. Kidnapped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mantis and Groot get kidnapped and while Rocket is obviously worried for Groot, he still has worries for The vulnerable Mantis.

It's been days. Everyday felt like torture and agony. Rocket couldn't sleep. Neither could the rest of the team. It was just work, work, work until they found them again.

Mantis and Groot were kidnapped.

Without the two in the team, everyone was on edge and anxious. People snapped more at each other harsher and got sadder faster. Rocket would find himself yelling at his machines in his misery, breaking things out of frustration while others would just ignore him. They tried to console him at first. It never worked. Nothing worked until those two were back and safe on their ship.

Finally, a lead. They all skipped whatever needs they had, called whatever alley they could find, and sped through the galaxy’s like hellfire to rescue them. 

Groot was fine they found out. At this point he had grown enough to defend himself and stay safe from any enemies. Rocket was beyond words of ecstatic for his little buddy that he could cry. 

But Mantis.

He found her first in a room; with a man no less. The first thing he saw was she was on the floor, huddled in the same clothes she was taken in and crying as the man inched towards her. 

Every fiber in Rocket's being sang out at once. Every feeling he had, turned from ice cold to livid burning fury. Still, he managed to calmly step into the room while listening to Mantis’s pleas for the man to get away from her. Neither noticed him at first and he preferred the surprise when he shot the man in the leg. 

“Agh!! You little beast-” he started to say before another shot hit his arm. “No stop!” He yelled once he realized what Rocket was doing. “No more, no!” 

Mantis was saying those exact words you asshole, Rocket thought to himself. He wanted to say them, but he was too busy mashing his teeth together, and took another shot at his other leg. 

“You see I'd love to hear you, but I can't get this ringing out of my ears.” Rocket laughed manically, still walking slowly to him. “It's like some annoying pest was screaming pathetically for me to stop blasting holes in him, when really, I'm just trying to do an honest pest control job.”

“Why are you shooting at me?!” he wailed.

At this rocket shot him in the face with no remorse. “You made my friend cry, you son of a bitch.” He growled out. The moment he felt satisfied with the guy dead, he turned to Mantis, watching as she shook and cried. His fury melted into concern, strapping his gun on his back to get to the woman. “Hey, hey! Mantis! It's me, rocket!” 

“Rocket?” Mantis sobbed. “Oh Rocket, it's really you.” she whimpered, her wide eyes shiner than normal. 

Something was wrong. She wasn't reaching out to him like she normally would have. Her hands were kept on herself, clinging to her own arms like she was afraid to move them off. 

“Mantis, what did he do to ya?” He said, reaching out to her and she actually backed away. She seemed too afraid to go near him.

Rocket felt the need to bring back the guy to shoot him again for whatever he did to his normally overly touchy friend. 

Mantis hiccuped as she was trying to calm herself, but it wasn't working. She only cried harder. “He...he found out what my powers could do. H-He took me here and made me change his emotions. But…” She cried. “He was so cold. There was nothing in him. Nothing but pain, anger, and joy.” 

“Joy?” Rocket asked confused. “Isn’t that a good thing?

Mantis shot him a look that surprised him. “He murdered so many...but was so happy about it! Everyday he would make me feel this way through him and I'd have to live through every murder he did. Every person. Every animal.” At this point she let out a whine of pain and covered her face. “Every child…” 

Rocket felt his ears flatten against the back of his head. “Oh Mantis…” 

Mantis curled into as tight of a ball as possible, wishing nothing touched her. “He threatened to set Groot on fire if I didn’t do what he asked. I was so scared of what he would do Rocket. I was so scared…” she whimpered, tears running down her face. 

Rocket rarely saw tears. In his job field, that happened to Pansy's and he would scoff at those pathetic enough to cry. But seeing Mantis the way she was...it was heartbreaking to watch. He had to do something to fix this. She was normally the one fixing others. Fixing their emotions. He has to try and fix here for once!

“Hey, hey, look at me.” he said, grabbing her hands. “Feel me, okay? Forget that a-hole for a minute and feel what I feel, okay?” he said, squeezing her fingers.

For a moment she looked hesitant. The trauma of feeling another must have been great on her, but she did so anyway. Immediately her face melted from unending misery, to contentedness. 

“See? I’m here. I was so scared for you too. You feel that, right?” he said. Mantis nodded, shutting her eyes to fully cherish what the raccoon was feeling; probably trying to smother whatever had been forced onto her that week. “Me and everyone were so scared for you and Groot. But now that I see you alive, I’m relieved. Angry sure. Really Pissed actually. But mostly-”

“Happy.” she breathed out, opening her eyes on him, blinking slowly. “You are happy I was not in a worst state. You thought-”

“Forget what I thought." He snapped. He didn't want to think what he thought. "I see you now and I think you’re going to be okay.” he said, slowly grinning up at her. “And I’ll make sure NOTHING makes you this messed up again.” 

Mantis opened up her eyes to stare at him in surprise, unable to feel shock because what she was feeling through Rocket was the truth. After a moment of stunned silence, she broke down once against and wrapped her arms around the racoon to hug him close, sobbing into his shoulder and fur. 

That was more like her.

“G-Good! Let it out, come on. That’s it.” he said, stiffening under her hug. Normally he wouldn’t be this caring towards anyone. Like...ever. Not even with past Groot was he ever this nice. But things are slowly changing in the team. Months ago, he would have knocked her down for crying. Now, he was more than ready to offer consol to her troubles. After all, he was given that when Groot died. Only fair to give what he was offered.

“I’m so happy you are here…” Mantis wept, starting to calm down. Rocket held up his arms, unsure where to put them. 

“Yeah, same here.” he agreed, patting the back of her head. “Same here…”


	6. You ever tried kissing?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trust is a strong thing to hold. Mantis feels she cojld only trust Rocket to try out...kissing.

Mantis kicked her legs on the box she sat on, frowning to herself as Groot and Rocket walked around the small space that was Rocket’s work area. 

“Okay, now we bring this over here…” he said, taking the large metallic piece and connecting it to another. Groot glanced up to where Mantis sat and voiced out his thoughts. “Groot wants to know what’s bothering you, Mantis.” Rocket said.

Groot looked down at the racoon annoyed. He didn’t say that. He only said “Mantis sure comes around a lot, doesn’t she?” 

But he wouldn’t be lying if that wasn’t on his mind as well. 

Mantis looked over at them briefly, then back down at her hands, fidgeting them. “I was just thinking…” she said, trailing off as she gathered up her words to finish her thought process.

“Go on?” Rocket said, taking his drink to his lips distracted. 

“I wish to try kissing.”

If only Peter was there with a camera. He would have captured a hilarious spit take of the raccoon as he coughed and tried to breathe again. 

“You what?!” he blurted out. 

“Kissing.” Mantis continued as if she didn't notice his reaction. “I have little knowledge when it comes to the acts of interacting with other species. Let alone processes of mating…”

“Ah, ah, ah!” Rocket yelled, jumping up to cover Groot’s ears from his shoulders. “Not around the tree-boy!” he snapped. The tree-being made an annoyed grunting noise and pushed the mammal off him.

“I am Groot!”

“You are NOT old enough to listen to that kind of talk. I say go outside and wait until she’s done talking about it.” he insisted.

Now Groot’s eyebrows shot up at the little creature. “I am Groot?”

At this, Rocket’s cheeks turned red under his fur and he waved at him. “I am NOT!” he yelled at him.

Mantis looked between them confused but Groot was all smirks and skipped out of the room with Rocket yelling once more, “I AM NOT!” 

“Am not what?” Mantis asked confused.

“Forget it. Finish your thoughts so I can go back to work in peace!” Rocket snapped, turning around to grab some tools, all the while still blushing. 

Mantis knew better than to push the buttons of this fuzzy genius, so she actually continued. “I was just...I have been on Ego’s planet all my life. I have seen him breed with other species of all sorts…”

“Oh god, I’m so glad I sent Groot out.” the raccoon groaned, rubbing over his eyes.

“But I never understood the...value of it?” she said trying to find her words. Her own cheeks pinked up. “I have been curious, but never dared to ask him.” 

“I can’t imagine why.” Rocket grumbled. “Asking a planet about that? That oughta make some weird conversation…” he trailed off as he dug around through his toolbox. 

“Do you know Rocket?” Mantis asked suddenly, turning her wide eyes on him.

“Say what?” he blurted out. 

“Do you know the reason why people kiss and what it means?”

That same blush came back over Rocket’s cheeks and he averted his gaze. “I have no idea! Why don’t you go find someone to test it out on?” 

Somehow saying that out loud made him feel weird. A bad weird. In fact, why did he word it like THAT? Thinking of Mantis kissing another. He didn't like it. But he couldn't take back his words now.

“I can’t!” she said, cheeks flaring up. “Peter and Gamora are in a relationship, Drax has made it clear he doesn’t wish to have any affections of the kind towards me, Groot has no lips-”

“You were thinking to kiss Groot?!” Rocket exclaimed, looking horrified. Then again, that must have been the mom inside of him reacting to protect tree-son. 

“And I don’t think I would enjoy kissing Kraglin. He seems…”

“Wimpy?” Rocket offered.

“I was going to say strange, but that works too.” she said with a small smile. 

“Well, that’s everyone on the list hunny. Ain’t nobody left on this ship to test out that theory.” 

There was a long awkward pause between them that made the raccoon feel very nervous. He glanced over at her to see her large dark eyes bore down at him in a very...strange way. Not to mention she suddenly was closer to him than before. It brought butterflies into his stomach and he reacted right away. “Wait, NO!” he yelled, pointing a wrench at her.

“You are not my first choice, but-”

“Mantis, whatever you are thinking, stop!” he warned. The suit he had on suddenly felt like it was choking his collar and he refused to tug at it to not show how he was uncomfortable in his own skin Didn’t help her eyes were bearing down at him still so strangely.

“It would just be a small one?” she asked, holding up her fingers to show how small a time she would take to get it over with.

“Nuh uh, it ain’t happening!” he said, leaping up on his machine. “And here's why! One, not the same species. Two, I don’t have time for that. And three, I don’t do mating rituals with anyone!” 

“Not ever?” she said surprised. “B-But I’m not asking to mate with you!” she blurted out, flushing at the face.

“Oh for god sake, stop talking. You’re making this so much worst.” he groaned, covering his very hot face. 

“I-I truly only want to try kissing with someone.” she said. “Please Rocket? I don’t think I can trust this with anyone else on board.”

“What about literally ANYONE else on this ship?” he snapped, voice raising a few alcoves. “Everyone is literally in everyone else’s business, so I’m very sure they’ll take you up on that offer and help you.” 

Again, he didn't like the sound of that but he couldn't take back his words.

“...I wanted to ask for your help.” she said shyly, in a small sad tone.

Rocket refused to acknowledge how his stomach fluttered at her words. Ain’t no way he was going to act like he was touched to hear that from someone. Ignored any thought that would lead to thinking how much closer the two of them have been for Mantis to put her trust in him above everyone else. Or how sweet she sounded asking for his help...

“Why me?!” he blurted out defensively, hating how high his voice became. 

“You’re my friend and I know you wouldn’t take this the wrong way.” she said honestly. 

How wrong she was. Rocket was already taking this in so many wrong ways that he doesn’t want to think how ashamed he felt about how he wanted to do the kissing thing with her now.

“Ugh,” he rubbed his hands over his face. “Well answer is STILL no! Fact is, I’m not doing it.” he said, turning around to get back to work. “You can cry and plead all you want. I ain’t doing it.” he said. Rocket continued to work until he felt two hands snake around his body and rub between his ears. He felt his fur had caught on fire as he realized what was happening. 

“Please Rocket?” she asked softly. She wasn’t using her powers on him he realized. In fact, he wasn’t even fighting back from how she rubbed between his ears just the right way. “I won’t ask of anything of you again, I promise.”

“Promises...are cheap.” he said, his voice sounding funny to his own ears. His leg kicked slightly against his will. How did he end up in this position?

Mantis’s hands came under his chin and began to scratch under. He felt all resolve begin to fade away at how nice that felt. “Please?” she asked again softly. 

This was...new. Very new. New and scary. But he kinda liked it. But he should be fighting this. Clawing for escape but he realized he was letting this happen.

He opened his dazed eyes up at Mantis who kept her gaze on his lips; puckering up her own and leaning towards him.

“W-Wait-” he stammered, with his heart leaping into his throat. This was actually gonna happen to him?!

He barely had a second to register before her lips touched his; so soft and warm and then she pulled away. Her head snapped back, her face lit aflame while her hands stopped their massaging. 

“There! All done!” she said nervously. 

Rocket blinked in surprise, staring up at her. 

“Please don’t scratch my face.” she said, looking very guilty with what she did now that she finally did it.

“...Is that it?” he blurted out.

Mantis snapped her head down at him surprised, but her surprise didn’t match the shock that came over his face. 

“Please tell me I didn’t say that out loud.” he said, blinking dumbly at her. Mantis only opened and closed her mouth awkwardly, not sure what to say and he suddenly was aware of his own actions. How his hands and legs were curled up in her arms in a very relaxed manner and how his body was leaning against her comfortably. 

“What’s our rule?” he asked.

“Not a word-”

“Good!” he said, pushing off her and leaping on the ground, shaking himself of...whatever he was feeling just now. “Not a word of this to anyone else. Not a soul will ever hear about this! Got it? Or I swear to God, I don’t care how you think you’re cute, I WILL gut your eyes out.”

Mantis nodded quickly, wilting under his stare. But he couldn’t hold that for long. He could barely look at her given how rapidly his heart rate was speeding up just looking at her eyes. He turned quickly away to jump down to the floor and went back to work. 

Mantis didn’t move, staying in her knelt position at his machine parts, fidgeting only slightly when he’d grumble something outloud.

“...Rocket?” she spoke up softly.

“What?” he snapped.

“Thank you. I think I know what it means to kiss someone now.”

His fur was just done being red. But now the flame only returned ten times harsher across his chest and into his fingers and toes. “Will you just get OUT OF HERE?!” he exclaimed. 

Mantis yelped, jumping to her feet and running out of the room and leaving him behind to stare at his machine. He stared for a good long while before banging his head against it. “Dammit…”


End file.
